2816 Tasting Notes

If I don’t order from Harney & Sons again I will certainly miss this one… an excellent black tea with just a touch of fruit and vanilla. We have almost gone through a 7 oz. tin in a short amount of time.

There aren’t too many red rooibos blends that I have liked in the past but this just sounded so intriguing in the Simpson and Vail catalog – plus peach seemed like it might have gone really well with the roobois…

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It did still have that slightly weird rooibos smell when brewing but after I steeped this for 5 minutes and let it cool down slightly, I was delighted to discover the marigold and the peach flavor seemed to complement the rooibos so nicely. I can even drink it plain without any additives which is something I don’t often do with a red rooibos tea. It’s peachy! :)

I might even try some other S & V rooibos blends after this!

Preparation

another sipdown!
I had problems finishing this, for some reason it kind of lost its’ appeal. I had only a little bit left so mixed it with some of Teavivre’s silver needle and it’s not bad but I won’t be restocking it.

I just have a few dregs here and there from different teas my Tea from Taiwan sample packs. It’s tempting to throw the bits together in one giant teapot but that almost seems like a sacrilege, doesn’t it?

I always enjoy a nice green oolong from Taiwan, they seem to cheer me up somehow. this is very smooth and sweet- see previous tasting notes.

And just when I’ve been warming up to this tea i seemed to have lost it somewhere in my apartment. How does one lose a tea? Well if you saw my stash you might understand but this was in a pretty big envelope. I hope I find it again.

I have to be really in the mood for white teas in order to appreciate them. Lately I’ve been intrigued by the vegetal and slightly smoky essence of this one. There is a tiny hit of corn flavor somewhere in the background. I figure there is some perfect way to steep this that will turn it magical but I haven’t discovered how yet. Or maybe not.

I knew I had to try this tea when I first saw it. I love cardamom and roses so it was definitely calling my name!

I steeped this for 3 minutes at 212 F. I may have accidentally used too much leaf because it seems very strong (but yummy). The rose is very prominent in this blend, at first I thought maybe it was too much but as the cup is cooling off I like it more. The cardamom you pick up more so in the finish. The base of this tea is a rose congou, which I’ve never had before but now I’m inspired to try the plain rose congou, evidently it is fermented with rose petals. Doesn’t that sound a bit indulgent? I love it. hee hee.

Anyway I thought this was lovely, with a touch of soymilk. It got very dark and rich with both a floral and spicy aroma. But it is definitely strong on both the rose and the cardamom so if you’re leery of either of these things you’d better steer clear of this one.

I did manage to get a second steep out of it, still good although quite a bit milder…

Preparation

Thanks to The DJBooth for sending some of this my way. I was also tempted to pick this up at the end of year Teavana fire sale but didn’t.

No doubt one of the reasons this one was initally very pricey is the beautiful flower like formations that are all tied by hand. And the tin looked pretty cool as well. ;-) I wasn’t sure how much tea to steep in my cup but I ended up using two rosettes at 212F for around 3 minutes.

This is a very nice dark red color in the cup. It’s a bit malty, chocolatey and dark, pretty smooth. I think perhaps Teavana should tell more plain teas for those of us who want them. No doubt they are hanging onto my every word (hee hee). I enjoyed this one!

Steeped it at 212 F for around 4 minutes. WooT! The smell is heavenly and exactly what I recall marzipan to be like, sweet and almondy. Sometimes decaf tea has a bit of an “off” flavor but I’m not really noticing it here. I added soymilk to this because that’s how I plan to drink it. I didn’t feel it needed sugar. That really made it delectable for me, rich and satisfying. Yum – I’m a happy camper with this blend for sure! I wish I had gotten more than 2 oz.

My first order from Simpson & Vail and I’m already a fan. From their catalog they look like a cute, family owned business that’s been around for 82 years.

My order arrived quickly and I was THRILLED to discover the tea I did not order in tins came in 100% biodegradable bags! These things are important to me from an environmental standpoint and I love to discover companies who feel the same. Yes!!! – I will be back to you soon, S & V.

Anyhoo onto this tea. I have grown to like green roobois fairly well and I thought this sounded like a nice afternoon/evening blend. I used about 2 tsp. in an infuser mug @ 180F at 3 minutes. It is very colorful and smells kind of fruity.

This one brews up kind of pink, there is hibiscus in it, but thankfully not too strong in this blend. This reminds me a bit of green and fruity from David’s Tea. I am getting a lot of papaya/orange flavor and it is a bit flowery as well. I think this would make a great iced tea so I’ll have to try it that way. Overall I am pretty pleased. It’s nicely balanced for an herbal but it’s hard to tell there’s any roobois in here. I’m a little annoyed at myself for not noticing the hibiscus when I placed the order though. It’s a wee bit tart.

Preparation

I actually liked this a bit better today for some reason so I upped the rating – can’t remember what I did last time but steeping it here for 3 minutes seems to have done the trick. It’s medium bodied and smooth with a hint of mango, this seems nice to drink just plain. Nevertheless I just seem to be gravitating away from flavored black teas a bit.

I really love the organic teas & backyard compostable packaging and this will definitely have me going back to Arbor Teas once my supply is depleted a bit.